Income effects on labor supply

Here is a fascinating new paper by Mikhail Golosov, Michael Graber, Magne Mogstad, and David Novgorodsky on the effects of winning the lottery. The bottom line on what people do with their good fortune: "On average, an extra dollar of unearned income in a given period reduces pre-tax labor earnings by about 50 cents, decreases total labor taxes by 10...

1d

A Pigou Biography

Ian Kumekawa's biography of A.C. Pigou has been sitting on my shelf since it was published a few years ago, but I just got around to reading it, and I very much enjoyed it. The book tells the story of the arc of Pigou's career--from a top student of Alfred Marshall, to a leader of his field, to a fading star struggling with age and declining relevance,...

Jun 2021

Testing the Mill Hypothesis

My intermediate macro book begins with a quotation from John Stuart Mill, which ends with this conclusion:"My advice to you is to study the great writers on Political Economy, and hold firmly by whatever in them you find true; and depend upon it that if you are not selfish or hardhearted already, Political Economy will not make you so."A recent study...

May 2021

The Deficit Gamble

 Still relevant, maybe more relevant, after a quarter century.

May 2021

Economic Theory Summer Camp

Run by my colleague Eric Maskin (aimed at graduate students in economics, now an online event).

May 2021

Fair Share

Yesterday, President Biden said, "I will not impose any tax increase on people making less than $400,000. But it’s time for corporate America and the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans to just begin to pay their fair share....But I will not add a tax burden, additional tax burden on the middle class of this country. They’re already paying enough."According...

Apr 2021

Ranking economists

 ...with google trends. (More complete ranking here.)

Mar 2021

Market Power in Neoclassical Growth Models

Click here to read my most recent paper, coauthored with Larry Ball. Here is the abstract:This paper examines the optimal accumulation of capital and the effects of government debt in neoclassical growth models in which firms have market power and therefore charge prices above marginal cost. In this environment, the real interest rate earned by savers...

Mar 2021

Watch the Speed Limit

Click here to read my column in this coming Sunday's New York Times.

Feb 2021

Upcoming Webinar

I will be giving a webinar open to all on March 5. You can find more information and register here.

Feb 2021